3 best ways to Learn Java in 2024?

javinpaul - Jan 24 '23 - - Dev Community

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Hello guys, if you want to learn Java and become a Java developer in 2024 but wondering what is the best way to learn Java in 2024 then you have come to the right place.

In the past, I have shared many useful resources to learn Java programming and development like the Java Developer RoadMapbest Java courses, best Java books, and this list of best websites to learn Java for FREE**, and in this article, I will tell you the best way to learn Java and become a Java developer in 2024.

Even if you don't have any experience in programming, you might have heard the term "Java". Java is one of the most common and popular terms in the programming world.

It is because Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the world and it is existing since the mid-90s. Not only does Java exist even today, but it has also managed to occupy the top positions in all those years.

Java is used almost everywhere in the IT world. It is used in web development, mobile development, game development, database connections, and many more. So, if you are planning to learn Java in 2024, then it is a great decision.

But Java is a tough Programming language language. It is considered one of the toughest programming languages in the world to master.

But that does not mean one cannot learn it. Learning Java basics is easy once you know how to set up your development environment. With proper guidance and determination, anyone can master Java.

In this article, we will list 3 different ways to learn Java Programming language and suggest the best way to learn Java in 2024 so that you can learn and master the Java programming language and become a Java developer you always wanted to be.

Remember, there are a lot of jobs for Java developers, and skilled Java developers particularly those who are good at multithreading and concurrency are paid quite high, on average more than 150,000 USD to millions if you get a chance to work at companies like Google or Amazon.

At the lower end also, you can easily get a job and earn anywhere from 60K to 90K as a beginner and intermediate Java developer with a couple of years of experience.

How to learn Java Online and become a Java Developer in 2024

Now, let's see the 3 main ways to learn Java programming language, its frameworks, tools, and ecosystem to become a Java developer in 2024.  I have sorted them based on the order you should start with them

The Complete Java Programmer RoaDMap

1 Join an online course

Joining an online course is the best way to start with Java Programming in 2024. For a long, I thought Books were best way to learn but in recent years, I have found online courses more effective in learning new technology, maybe because they provide more active learning than reading books

And, when it comes Internet is full of Java courses today. Some of them are paid while some are free. You can choose based upon your requirements, more often then not paid resources are better structured and more up-to-date but the internet, particularly YouTube and the freeCodeCamp channel has great free Java courses

If you want to learn Java in-depth with a paid course, then Java Programming Masterclass covering Java 11 & Java 17 at Udemy is the best option.

It is a huge course with a total video content of over eighty hours. It has twenty-five sections, four hundred and one that, and it covers every concept related to Java that a beginner should know.

The course starts with a very basic lecture explaining what are statements, expressions, variables, methods, and code blocks. After covering the most basic topics, the courses follow a few intermediate-level concepts such as OOPS, arrays, lists, classes, interfaces, and generics.

After that, it moves the advanced-level concepts such as databases and Java network programming. Overall a great course to learn Java programming for beginners and intermediate developers.

If you need a choice then Java Programming for Complete Beginners is another popular course at Udemy.

This course is for those who want to learn Java in a shorter period of time. Similar to the previous course, this one is also for period beginners but it is relatively shorter with total video content of thirty-one hours.

And, if you need free courses then you will find a couple of them in FreeCodeCamp's YouTube Channel like this Java Programming for Beginners – Full Course, this one is the most recent one and it covers Java 17

Here is the full list of topics covered in this free Java course
⭐️ Contents ⭐️
⌨️ (0:00:00) Hello World
⌨️ (0:06:39) Variables
⌨️ (0:13:12) Data Types
⌨️ (0:20:27) Operators
⌨️ (0:47:33) Strings
⌨️ (1:16:42) User Inputs
⌨️ (1:35:13) Conditional Statements
⌨️ (1:46:38) Switch Cases
⌨️ (1:55:59) Arrays
⌨️ (2:27:45) For Loops
⌨️ (2:47:22) While Loops
⌨️ (2:50:20) Do...While Loops
⌨️ (2:52:02) ArrayLists
⌨️ (3:12:25) HashMaps
⌨️ (3:28:38) Object Oriented Programming

And, if you need choices, you can see this list of 10 free Java courses for more ideas.


2. Read a good Java book

Books are one of the best sources for learning in the age of the internet and video tutorials. With books, you can go into the depth of everything and that's what a Java student needs.

If you are a total beginner in programming, then "Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies", is the best option for you. This book will guide you from the most basic topics such as how to create a Java program.

Moreover, instead of jumping to difficult concepts, this book nicely explains basic and necessary concepts such as variables, data types, arrays, objects, and many more.

Other useful Java books are Java: Programming Basics for Absolute Beginners, Core Java Volume I - Fundamentals, and Head First Java: A Brain-Friendly Guide.

best book to learn Java for beginners

And, if you need more choices, you can also checkout this list of 10 best books to learn Java in depth, where I have shared specialized books for different topics to learn Java in more detail.


3. Build Java projects

The best way to master a programming language is by practice. If you are confident that you have learned enough Java, then you should start building some basic Java projects.

Following is the list of some of the basic Java projects ideas for beginners:

  • Build a School management system
  • Build a Library
  • Create a Snake like game in Java
  • ATM interface
  • Design a Vending Machine
  • REST API Client 
  • Build a COVID Dashboard

The main goal of these basic Java projects is to learn how to use the basic but important JavaScript features such as OOPs, classes, and interfaces.

After covering the basic projects, you can move on to larger advanced projects. An e-commerce project is one of the best projects to learn real-time development. "Full Stack: Angular and Java Spring Boot E-Commerce Website" is the course that focuses on creating an e-commerce website using Java.

Best Java projects for beginners

And, again, if you need more project ideas, then you can also checkout this list of 10 Java project ideas and 10 spring boot project ideas for Java developers where I have shared more projects Java developers can build to learn Java in depth.

Once you have completed projects, you can add them into your github profile and start applying for Java developer job. More or less you will get a Java developer job sooner then later.

On side, you can also start doing freelance Java development work from Fiverr and Upwork where you can easily find small or big Java projects depending upon how much work you put in to get real world experience.

All these small things adds up and help you to get your first Java developer job. Believe me getting the first job is the most difficult part of starting a career in Software development, everything else is easy after that.

Just in case if you don't get a job in 6-months time, you can also start preparing for Java certifications like Java SE 11 Developer Certification 1Z0-819 or Java SE 17 Developer Certification 1Z0-829, these certification will not only help you to learn Java better but also give you recognition and prepare you better for interviews.

You will realize that you are answering questions in-depth after preparing for certification and your interviewer will also be impressed by seeing the depth of your knowledge which will further help you to get a better job and better salary in 20223.

That's all about the how to learn Java and become a Java developer in 2024. Java is not only one of the most popular programming languages, but also, one of the most important ones because it exists everywhere.

As mentioned earlier in this article, Java is used in several powerful domains such as web development, mobile development, and more. So learning Java is always worth it.

In this article, we listed some of the best books and courses to learn Java for beginners. We also provided some ideas for Java projects once you are done learning. So if you are planning to learn Java, just go for it.

Now, coming to the question, what is the best way to learn Java in 2024? Well, In my opinion, and based upon my experience as a Java developer, instructor, and author of Java book, I think the best way to learn Java is to start with a course and get yourself familiar with Java basics and then read books to learn Java in-depth, and finally do projects in Java to apply all the knowledge you have learned so far.

I have personally used these 3-point systems to learn Java and other programming languages and it works, and you can follow them to learn Java and become a Java developer in 2024.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these 3 best ways to learn Java online and become a Java developer in 2024, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any suggestions or feedback or any other text you want to share with us, then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you want to learn Java Programming and Development but need free resources like free books and free online courses then you can also check out this list of 10 best free Java coursess to learn Java from scratch in 2024.

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